The first reality show era senator

And the Browns culminate a steady evolution in the leveling of the culture, one that has been making its way into politics for a generation.

“To me the defining moment was Clinton playing the sax,” said Chris Lehane, a former aide to that president. “From there, it has just continued to evolve and grow, with each cycle the line between a candidate for an august office and reality TV candidates has become increasingly blurred.”

Lehane, now a political consultant in California, said he’s regularly approached by bona fide celebrities increasingly “interested in running for higher office, some seemingly interested as much as for the reality TV/branding opportunity as for the seat itself.”

The last two years have seen a boomlet in reality television stars takings tabs at elective office. Two “Real World” alums are already running for Congress and one of the “Real Housewives of New Jersey” is also thinking about it. Jon Corzine weighed making one former “Apprentice” star his Lieutenant Governor, and another is currently running for Congress in Cincinnati.